Lonely
by C3L35714
Summary: No one had heard from him in the past five years. No one had found him, either dead or alive. Where was Ash Ketchum? -happy ending- (Sound familiar? Please read my profile page for the explanation. Thank you!)


**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, or any of its characters.**

**IMPORTANT MESSAGE: This poem used to be on BlackWhiteSilverSoul's account. But actually, I, C3L35714, am the on who actually wrote this, so please refer to my account profile for the full details. Thank you.**

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Third POV

Ash was gone. He had no connections to anyone anymore. He had gone through Kanto, Johto, the Orange Islands, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos. And despite him making it to the League every time, he'd never emerged victorious. And he'd just disappeared with a team of six Pokémon. No one had heard from him in the past five years. It drove his friends crazy the first year. Everyone he'd ever met on his journey was looking for him. No one had found him, either dead or alive.

After three years, only his traveling partners were still looking. Ms Ketchum was a good bit more subdued. Even Team Rocket had quit their jobs after a year; they realized they actually cared for their Twerp and decided it wouldn't be the same. Serena, Clement, and Bonnie were still searching Kalos. Cilan and Iris had been forced back to their own gyms after taking a full year off. Dawn spent the first week in tears. She had taken two years off coordinating. Now, she still entered for her Pokémons' sakes, dedicating every ribbon and her Ribbon Cup silently to her missing friend. May had stopped for three years. She placed the ribbon she'd split with Ash at the top of her ribbons, on top of even her two prized Ribbon Cups. Max had finally been able to legally go on his journey, but he stayed at the Petalburg Gym with his father, not wanting to be reminded of what wasn't there. Tracy and Professor Oak spent most of their days with Ash's Pokémon, comforting them. Brock had completely given the gym to his younger brother Forrest. Misty...no one had heard from Misty in almost a year except Brock. Misty spent every night for the first three years crying. She missed Ash more than any of them, except possibly his own mother. Misty would do anything to see him again. She and Brock still spent their days traveling, searching for Ash. Every year, they all faithfully watched every league, hoping and praying he would show up. The League Champions were told as well, but even they could not find the boy. Five years passed, and the police gave up, presuming him dead.

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Ash's POV

Ash was lonely. That was all there was to it. For the last five years he'd been training in secret. No one knew where he was. Not even his Pokémon knew where they were.

Every day, Ash trained. He never, never abused his Pokémon, and clearly put their lives before his, but he trained extremely hard with them every single day without pause or break. With him, he had brought Pikachu, Charizard, Torterra, Samurott, Staraptor, and Heracross only. Finally the day came. He had waited for five years for the Indigo League. He wore a black cape with a hood. Underneath was his original hat, and a mismatch of his other outfits. He wore his Sinnoh jacket, Unova pants, Kalos shoes. One set of Kanto Badges were firmly tucked into his old green backpack. Pikachu sat on his shoulder as always, and Ash flew on Staraptor to the Pokémon was every year, Brock, Misty, Ms Ketchum, May, Max, Dawn, Cilan, Iris, Serena, Clement, and Bonnie all took front row seats in Kanto, the first league of the year.

"It's been five years," Misty said in a cracked voice. They were all silent as the matches progressed. There was one trainer that caught their eyes. He wore a dark cloak and hood, using only three Pokémon max as he made his way through every single round.

"Hey, check it out," Dawn said, gesturing to the silent Pikachu on the boy's shoulder.

"It's not him, Dawn," Max said in a discouraged voice. They all fell silent, forcing themselves to stop making connections.

"And Satoshi is moving on to the quarter finals!" the announcer cried to the roaring crowds.

"Satoshi," Cilan mused. "Ash's middle name." Then he frowned. It couldn't be. He was dead by now. The rest of the day passed in silence until the final round. The young man, Satoshi, was so far the winner. He was against a very powerful-looking trainer who had so far not shown his sixth Pokémon. The referee gave the ten-minute warning as the two trainers stepped onto the field.

Suddenly, the Pikachu hopped off Satoshi's shoulder. In one slick move, the boy yanked off his cloak. Underneath was a young man of about twenty. He had raven-black hair, a black short-sleeved jacket, black pants, and red shoes. But the killer was his hat. They all recognized that hat. The entire stadium was silent. Suddenly, Misty screamed. That set her ten friends off, and they all exclaimed as well. The boy turned to them in shock, as did everyone in the stadium for interrupting the stilled silence. His brown eyes took in all of them, and his eyes widened. That was enough for Misty.

She leaped over the side of the arena wall, scrambling to her feet. She ran toward the young man as fast as she could as collided into him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, sobbing. The rest of her friends came down to, though paused when they were out of the bleachers. Misty pulled back after about thirty seconds. She looked up at him, and he at her. It really was him.

"Ash," Misty breathed. Ash squeezed her hands.

"Hey, Mist," he said. His voice was deeper, not just with age, but from experience. The rest of his friends couldn't stop themselves; they hurled themselves at their presumed-dead friend, creating one big hug. Meanwhile, everyone in the stadium was stunned, especially the poor guy at the other end of the field.

The announcer suddenly called out, "Excuse us for the interruption, but it appears we have a celebrity on our field. Everyone, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" There was a moment of silence before more than half the crowd stood, clapping and cheering. Ash's name was famous all around the world, thanks to the calls in the past five years, not to mention all the other work he'd done beforehand. Ash stuck his head out of the group of crying (or near it) friends and mom.

"Guys," he said, and they stifled their cries. "Guys, I swear I won't run off after." And Ash's usual cheeky grin was back. "But I've got a league match to win," Slowly, they parted, going back to their seats by Officer Jenny-escorts. Misty stayed the longest.

"Ash, you put this before us. So you better win it." And she was gone.

Needless to say, Ash won. He did end up using all his Pokémon in the ridiculously tough battle, but he won. He won. After perhaps ten years, Ash emerged in the best victory anyone had ever made. Ash returned home with his friends, knowing he had a lot to make up. But he knew that he would be able to alongside his friends.

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